Florida Tomorrow is a place...
where every patient has access to safe, high-quality health care.
Solutions for Better Care
Anyone who has seen a family member hospitalized — whether as an emergency or for a routine procedure — wants to believe his or her loved one will get the best possible care. Recent studies show that safe, high-quality care requires the right number of well-educated nurses in supportive practice environments.
At UF’s Blue Cross Blue Shield Center for Health Care Access, a study of Florida’s hospitals will add to a growing body of research findings linking nursing variables to patient outcomes.
Professor Donna Neff is leading the UF study and will survey 35,000 Florida nurses to develop a good understanding of how staffing and practice environments can affect patient care. One goal of the study is to provide insights to prevent nurse burnout and turnover, which contribute to high hospital costs and compound the shortage.
“We want to find out about nurses’ workplace environments and the burdens and stressors that detract from nurses’ effectiveness,” Neff says. “If we have an improved work environment, nurses can function better and will stay in their positions — that’s good for patients.”
Neff’s study is the first to be conducted under the auspices of the UF Blue Cross Blue Shield Center, which will focus on patient safety and quality care. The center, created in 2007 through a gift from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, will develop strategies to improve health care access and outcomes for Floridians and demonstrate how these can be applied nationally. In addition to collecting data on nurses’ work environments and their impact on patient care, Neff’s work will also identify the “best practices” used by hospitals and other health care agencies to attract and retain nurses. Contributions of foreign-educated nurses will also be considered. Neff hopes to gain insights related to care outcomes for older patients, an area of particular interest in Florida.
“Nurses are often given responsibility without the authority or environmental supports necessary to effect good outcomes for their patients. Nurses must be included in the decision-making process that determines hospital environments, and they must have the education necessary to fully participate in such decision-making,” Neff says.
She will involve undergraduate and graduate students, as well as practicing nurses, in her research and in studying implications of her research. Her ultimate goal is to lead in improving patient care.
